The article argues that recent executive overreach and politicization have severely undermined established norms of U.S. civil-military relations. To restore professional standards, the incoming Congress must actively exercise its oversight powers, moving beyond mere criticism to demanding transparency in defense policy and personnel decisions. Key reforms include enforcing meritocratic promotion processes, requiring documented justification for senior officer removals, and preventing the partisan use of the military. These actions are crucial for bolstering public trust and ensuring the military remains a nonpartisan instrument of civilian control.
U.S. Boat Strikes Kill Eleven
English Summary
CFR reports that U.S. Southern Command’s anti-drug boat strike campaign intensified, with eleven people killed in one day across the Eastern Pacific and Caribbean, making it the deadliest day of the operation this year. The brief notes this brings reported fatalities to at least 144 since September, while the U.S. has not publicly released identities or evidence supporting claims that those killed were tied to trafficking networks. It highlights growing legal and normative challenges, including wrongful-death litigation and expert arguments that lethal force against suspected traffickers is unlawful absent an imminent violent threat. Strategically, the campaign may impose rising legal, reputational, and regional diplomatic costs, suggesting a need for stricter oversight, evidentiary transparency, and greater reliance on interdiction and criminal prosecution rather than expanded military strikes.
中文摘要
CFR指出，美國南方司令部的反毒海上打擊行動已明顯升級，在東太平洋與加勒比海於單日造成11人死亡，成為該行動今年以來最致命的一天。該簡報稱，自9月以來通報的死亡人數已至少達144人；但美方尚未公開死者身分，亦未提出可支持其「死者與販運網絡有關」主張的證據。報告並強調，相關行動正面臨日益升高的法律與規範挑戰，包括不當致死訴訟，以及專家主張：若無迫在眉睫的暴力威脅，對疑似販運者動用致命武力屬違法。從戰略層面看，此行動可能持續推高法律、聲譽與區域外交成本，顯示有必要加強監督、提升證據透明度，並較少依賴擴大的軍事打擊，轉而更重視攔截與刑事起訴。
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